Garment display racks



Jan. 14, 1964 Filed March 14, 1962 S. LIGEIKIS ETAL GARMENT DISPLAYRACKS r" ll IL 3 Sheets-Sheet l IIIUMMEEIIIIIIWMIIW%H 52 r I [l 1| II IIII VENTORS STEVE LIGEIKIS BY STEVE LlGElKIS,JR.

ATTORNEY Jan. 14, 1964 s. LIGEIKIS ETAL GARMENT DISPLAY RACKS 3Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 14, 1962 STEVE LIGEIKIS ATTORNEY BY STEVELIGEIKIS,JR.

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Jan. 14, 1964 s. LIGEIKIS ETAL GARMENT DISPLAY RACKS 5 Sheets- Sheet 3Filed March 14, 1962 xii R M J msm W 7 NKK 5 El] VEE mmm LL EE VV m T SSY 9 B 5 m 1, 5 5 6 P5 5 5 9 5 l O 5 I l 13 G 5 I F. 7 5

ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,117,674 GARIVIENT DISRLAY RACKS teveLigeikis and Steve Ligeikis, Jr., both of PD. Box 245, Perrine, Fla.Filed Mar. 14, 1962, Ser. No. 179,668 8 Claims. (Cl. 211-168) Thepresent invention relates to garment display racks, and moreparticularly to such racks which are capable of displaying individualgarments in isolated position without removal of the garment from therack, and also relates to a garment display rack comprising a hangerwith an improved retaining clip which permits the semiautomatic loadingand unloading of the hanger, with the garment properly and securely heldby the clip when loaded on the hanger.

In retail merchandising of garments, such as trousers, slackets, etc.,it is desirable to display a large number of garments in a minimumamount of space, and this requirement has led to the utilization ofgarment display racks in which a number of hangers are supported fromand by a suitable structure, the structure usually standing free on asales floor. The hangers are conventionally placed relatively close toeach other, and are pivotal about generally vertically extending axes,to thereby permit the viewing of one garment at a time by a customer.

During the selection process by the customer, the hangers are swung sothat individual garments may be viewed one at a time. As usuallyhappens, the selection process usually eliminates a good many of thegarments, resolving the issue down to a choice between one of severalgarments. At this step in the purchasing of the garment, the customerdesires to view comparatively the several garments among which the finalselection will be made. Often, the customer calls upon a salesman toremove the garments thus initially selected from their hangers so thatthey may be comparatively viewed and scrutinized, and this removal ofthe garments, or the spreading of the hangers in an unnatural fashion,results in several deleterious consequences. For one thing, a largeamount of the salesmans time is consumed in removing the garments, beingpresent while the garments are finally judged, and then loading backonto their hangers the garments not selected. Also, this procedure hasthe effect of requiring an undue amount of handling of the garments,leading to the garments becoming soiled, unpressed, or otherwiseshopworn, all of which effects lessen the profits to the store and/ orcause an increase in the cost of the garments.

The garment display racks heretofore utilized have often taken up anundue amount of valuable space on the sales floor, and/or have revealedso much of the rack itself that the racks did not lend themselves to allinterior decors. Also, these prior racks have not been usable bythemselves for the display of one or several individual garments apartfrom the remainder of the garments.

The hangers of the prior display racks have been provided with clipdevices to retain the garment on the hangers, to prevent them fromfalling off the hangers onto the floor and thereby becoming soiled.Often, the clip or retainer devices pressed the fabric of the garmentbetween two members, which were of metal or other material, and thistended to crease or deform the garment in an unnatural way, thuspreventing them from giving the best appearance. Other clip or retainerconstructions on hangers has utilized a fabric-to-fabric contact toprevent the sliding of the garment ofi the hanger. However, these haverequired that the garment be handled in a unique and unobvious manner,so that garment wear resulted and so that the customers did notunderstand how to properly load the hanger with the result that the clipor retainer was not utilized by the customer and often a garmenteventually fell to the floor.

ice

An object of the present invention is to provide a garment display rackwhich is substantially concealed by the garments displayed thereon.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a garmentdisplay rack in which a selected one or more of the garments displayedthereon may be individually viewed.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a garmentdisplay rack in which one or more selected hangers, with garmentsthereon, may be individually isolated from the mass of garments ondisplay to thereby permit individual viewing thereof.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a garmentdisplay rack in which a unique display effect may be obtained byisolating one or more selected garments from the mass of garments on therack, and maintaining them in a variety of positions.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a garmentdisplay rack in which garment handling during the selection processleading to a purchase is at a minimum.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a garmentdisplay rack with hangers which facilitate loading and removal ofgarments thereon.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a garmentdisplay rack having hangers which facilitate the loading and removal ofgarments thereon by a person, such as a customer, having no experiencewith the rack.

A further object of the present invention is the pro vision of a garmentdisplay rack having hangers which may be loaded and unloaded withgarments with little or no manipulation of the garment.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of the presentinvention will be readily understood from the following specificationand drawings, wherein: 7

FIG. 1 is a side perspective View of a garment display rack inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an end View of the garment display rack of FIG. 1, showinghangers individually positioned.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a portion of the garment display rack shown inFIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken on the line 44 of FIG.1.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 55 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken on the line 77 of FIG.2.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional View taken on the line 88 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 99 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 10 is a perspective View of a part of an alternate constructionsupport structure for the hangers of the display rack of the presentinvention.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 1111 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 12 is an elevational view showing a hanger and clip of the presentinvention.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 1313 of FIG. 12.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like or corresponding referencenumerals are applied to like or corresponding parts throughout theseveral views, there is shown in FIG. 1 a garment display rack generallydesignated 20. Display rack 20 has a base portion comprising the twoidentical legs 21, a support generally designated 30 and a plurality ofhangers 50 carried by the support 30.

Each of the legs 21 comprises the two standards 22 and 23, as may beseen in FIGS. 1 and 7, these standards 22 and 23 being tubular membersof square cross-section and having a connecting plate 24 at their lowerend. A foot member 26 (see also FIG. 2) extends through and between thestandards 22 and 23 and is secured therethrough, as by welding, footmember 26 overlying the connecting plate 24. The standards 22 and 23 aresecured at their upper ends to a connecting plate 27 which is secured bybolts or the like to a portion of the support 30.

As may be seen from FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the support 30 is generallyplanar, having a relatively narrow width in comparison to its length andheight. Support 34} as shown in FIG. 5, has a frame 31 bounding it atits end and bottom, the frame 31 also being formed of a tubular memberor members of generally square cross-section, as may be seen in FIGS. 4and 9. The frame 31 supports a channel member 32 inwardly of the bottomand ends thereof, and across the upper part thereof. Within the channel'32 is a plate-like member generally designated 33, and as may be seenin FIG. 9 the plate-like member 33 has a plurality of grooves 34 in theopposite faces thereof, these grooves 34 providing channels or pocketsfor receiving vertically extending portions 51 of the hangers 50. Thegrooves 34 in one face of the plate-like member 33 are ofiset relativeto the grooves 34 in the other face of the plate-like member 33. Grooves34 may be formed in known fashion by routing them out from the oppositefaces of a single piece of material such as wood. The grooves 34 may beseen to extend vertically in FIGS. 4 and 5, the vertical portions 51 ofthe hangers 50 being shown therein.

Covering over the grooves 34, and providing a neat and attractiveappearance to the garment display rack 20, as well as insuring thegarments against damage, are the panels 36, and as will be seen fromFIG. 4 the panels 36 are contained, with plate-like member 33, withinthe channel 32.

Referring now to FIG. 5, there may be seen extending across the top ofsupport 30, and forming a part thereof, a tube 37 which is secured tothe frame 31 by bolts 38, bolts 38 extending through the tube 37 andengaging in nuts 39 suitably affixed in the upper ends of the sideportions of frame 31. As may be seen in FIG. 6, the tube 37 is generallysquare in cross-section.

The tube 37 has a series of oppositely disposed pairs of holes 41 and 42in the upper and lower plates thereof, the axis of each pair of holesbeing in alignment with a said groove 34.

A coil spring 44 extends within the tube 37, as may be seen in FIGS. 4and 5, the ends 46 and 47 of the coil spring 44 being passed around thebolts 38, as may be seen in FIGS. and 8.

Referring now to FIG. 10, there is shown an alternate construction ofthe plate-like member 33, there being shown in FIG. a plate-like member43 made up of a first row of spaced, longitudinally-extending members 48of generally rectangular cross-section and a similar row of members 49.These members 48 and 49 are secured to each other in alternateoverlapping fashion, as by gluing or the like, and thereby providegrooves 48A and 49A between the several members 48 and the severalmembers 49, respectively, these grooves or channels corresponding to thegrooves 34 in plate-like member 33.

Referring now to FIG. 4, it may be seen that the hangers 50 of thepresent invention each comprises a rod with avertically extendingportion 51 having a loop 52 at its upper end and a horizontal portion 53extending from the loop 52, and thereby extending from the upper end ofthe vertical portion 51. As may be seen from FIGS. 5 and 11, thevertical portions 51 and the horizontal portion 53 lie in adjacentvertical planes.

Each of the hangers 50 has a protection knob 54 at its outer end, andeach hanger 50 is provided with a clip generally designated 55. Eachclip 55 comprises a horizontal part 56 having one end thereof secured tothe upper part of the vertical portion 51, as by brazing or welding, theend of horizontal part 56 being preferably adjacent the top of verticalportion 51, near loop 52. Horizontal part 56 extends beneath thehorizontal portion 53 of hanger 50, as may be seen from FIG. 4, and ispreferably in skew relation to said horizontal portion 53, as is bestseen in FIG. 11. The outer end of clip 55 is formed into a bight 57, andas may be seen from FIG. 11 the bight 57 lies on the opposite side of avertical plane extending through the hanger horizontal portion 53 fromthe hanger vertical portion 51. A return part 58 of the clip 55 extendsfrom the bight 57 generally parallel to the horizontal part 56, returnpart 58 having an upturned end 59 which is secured in suitable fashionto the underside of horizontal portion 53. Preferably, and as may beseen from FIG. 11, the end of clip 55 adjacent bight 57 is in angularrelation to the horizontal part 56 and 58, this end adjacent bight 57diverging away from the vertical plane containing hanger horizontalportion 53 and being removed from a vertical plane through horizontalportion 53 sufficiently to be engaged by the folds of a garment placedon and slid along the horizontal portion 53.

in FIG. 12, there may be seen the hunger 56* and its clip 55 with a pairof trousers 51) arranged on the hori zontal portion 53, and extendingrearwardly of the hori zontal part 56 and 53 of the clip 55. As it isshown in FIG. 13, this construction causes fabric-to-fabric engagementso as to prevent the trousers from slipping off the hanger 50.

As is shown in 'FIG. 5, each of the vertical portions 51 extends througha pair of holes 41 and 42 in the tube 37 and thence into a groove 34 inplate-like member 33. Each vertical portion 51 has a suitable detent orenlargement 51 at its lower end to prevent withdrawal of the hanger 5t?entirely from the grooves 34, the horizontal part 56 of clip 55 limitingthe downward movement of the hanger 50. Vertical portion 51 is inbearing engagement with a convolution of coil spring 44, havingengagements therewith on opposite sides thereof as shown in FIG. 5.

The coil spring 44 is, of course, a single, unitary spring, and servesto hold an entire array of hangers 50. Should spring 44 break, it will,at most, fail to engage only one of the hangers 50, all off the otherhangers being operatively engaged therewith even when it is broken.

A hanger 50 is retained in any elevated position by the combined actionof the binding of the vertical portion 51 with the holes 41 and 42, andin addition by the engagement of the vertical portion 51 with theconvolution of the coil spring 44.

The garment display rack, when ready for use, rests on its feet 21, withthe hangers 50 extending in two banks or rows, in opposite directionfrom the central plane of hanger support 30. As may be seen from FIG. 3,individual hangers 50 may be rotated about a vertical axis to expose thegarments thereon, as indicated by the arrows, so that each garment maybe used by the customer.

When the garment display rack 20 has garments on the hangers 5d, therack itself will be substantially concealed by the garments thereon,thus permitting the rack to be utilized with any interior decor.Individual hangers may be elevated different distances, as will beapparent from FIG. 2, to thereby promote and display individual garmentson the several hangers thus elevated and isolated. Thereby, one or aplurality of the racks 20 may be utilized to form an eye-appealingdisplay of the merchandise, separating and isolating certain of thegarments for enhanced sales appeal.

When the customer views the garments on the display rack 29, each of thehangers may be swung in a horizontal plane, as is indicated by thearrows in FIG. 3, to thereby permit viewing of the garmentsindividually. When the choice is narrowed down to several garments, theindividual hanger 56 upon which each selected garment is held may bereadily raised by the customer, so that the several garments are placedin isolated positions away from the mass of other garments on thedisplay rack 20, thereby permitting viewing and comparison of the fewselected garments from which the final choice will be made.

Each hanger will be held in any selected elevated position, up to themaximum elevation as determined by the detent 51'. Because of theeccentnic weight of the garment relative to the axis of vertical portion51 of hanger 50, the vertical portion 51 will be under a tendency tocant and thereby bind in the holes 41 and 42 through which it extends.In addition, the hanger vertical portion 51 will be in engagement with aconvolution of the coil spring 44, there being, usually, a two pointcontact by the convolution with the vertical portion 51, on oppositesides of vertical portion 51.

When it is desired to unload a garment from the hanger 50, it is onlynecessary to pull the garment away from support 30, so that after ashort distance of travel the garment 60 will be freed from clip 55 andits further and final removal from hanger 59 may be readily andeffortlessly effected. To load a garment onto a hanger it is onlynecessary to fold a garment over the horizontial portion 53, and then toslide it toward the support 30. The leading edge of the garment willengage with and be guided by the outer end of the clip 55, shortlybehind the bight 57, so that the folds of fabrics will come into contactwith each other to effect the holding relationship clearly shown inFIGS. 12 and 13. v This provides for practically automatic retaining orclipping of the garment on the hanger 5t) and results from an inherentaction which would be normal and expected from a customer, even acustomer who was unfamiliar with the rack 2t) and hanger 50. As will beappreciated there is, in the loading and loading hereinabove referredto, a minimum of garment manipulation.

There has been provided a garment display rack which is substantiallyconcealed by the garments displayed thereon, and which will thereforeaccommodate itself with any interior decor. Individual garments may beisolated and displayed by utilization of the rack of the presentinvention, and attractive displays of selected garments may be made.

Hangers may be individually isolated with the rack of the presentinvention so that individual viewing of one or more selected garmentsmay be achieved, while the garments are still on the hangers, thusresulting in reduced shop-wear and consumption of time of salespersonnel. The hangers of the present invention may be readily moved toand from isolated positions, to promote the individual viewing hereinreferred to.

In addition, there has been provided a garment hanger which facilitatesloading and removal of garments, even by persons inexperienced withrespect to such rack and hangers. The hanger provided by the presentinvention securely holds a garment thereon, while permitting the garmentto be semi-automatically loaded into a clipped or retained relationshipwith the hanger.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes maybe made without departing from the spirit of the invention and thereforethe invention is not limited to what is shown in the drawings anddescribed in the specification but only as indicated in the appendedclaims.

What is claimed:

1. A garment display rack comprising a base, a hanger support carried bysaid base, and a plurality of hangers carried by said hanger support,said support comprising a plate-like member having a plurality ofgenerally verticmly extending grooves in the opposite faces thereof, andpanels on the opposite faces of said plate-like members covering oversaid grooves, a frame about the ends and bottom of said member andpanels, a tube extending along the top of said plate-like member andhaving a series of oppositely disposed pairs of holes therein, the axisof each pair of holes being in alignment with a said groove, a bolt ateither end of said tube extending therethrough and securing said tube tosaid frame, a coil spring extending in said tube and having its endssecured to said bolts, said hangers each comprising a rod with avertically extending portion and a horizontal portion at the upper endof the vertical portion, said portions lying in adjacent verticalplanes, each hanger vertical portion extending in a said groove, througha pair of holes in said tube and between and in engagement with aconvolution of said coil spring, each hanger vertical portion having aretainer element at the lower end thereof to prevent its completewithdrawm from said support, and a clip on each hanger comprising -ahorizontal part extending from the hanger vertical portion adjacent thetop thereof beneath and in skew relation to said hanger horizontalportion, the end of said clip being a bight which lies on the oppositeside of a vertical plane extending through said hanger horizontalportion from said hanger vertical portion, and a return part of saidclip extending generally parallel to said horizontal part and thenceupwardly with the end thereof secured to the hanger horizontal portion,the bight end of said 'clip being in angular relation to the horizontalparts thereof and diverging away from the vertical plane containing thehanger horizontal portion.

2. A garment display hack comprising a hanger support and a plurality ofhangers carried thereby, said support comprising a plate-like memberhaving a plurality of generally vertically extending grooves in theopposite faces thereof, and panels on the opposite faces of saidplate-like members covering over said grooves, a frame about the endsand bottom of said member and panels, a tube extending along the top ofsaid plate-like member and having a series of oppositely disposed pairsof holes therein, the axis of each pair of holes being in alignment witha said groove, means scouring said tube to said frame, a coil springextending in said tube, said hangers each comprising a rod with avertically extending portion and a horizontal portion at the upper endof the vertical portion, said portions lying in adjacent verticalplanes, each hanger vertical portion extending in a said groove, througha pair of holes in said tube and between and in engagement with aconvolution of said coil spring, each hanger vertical portion having aretainer element at the lower end thereof to prevent its completewithdnawal from said support, and a clip on each hanger comprising ahorizontal part extending from the hanger vertical portion adjacent thetop thereof beneath and in skew relation to said hanger horizontalportion, the end of said clip being a bight which lies on the oppositeside of a vertical plane extending through said hanger horizontalportion from said hanger vertical portion, and a return part of saidclip extending generally parallel to said horizontal part and thenceupwardly with the end thereof secured to the hanger horizontal portion,the bight end of said clip being in :angular relation to the horizontalparts thereof and diverging away from the vertical plane containing thehanger horizontal portion.

3. The garment display rack of claim 2, said plate-like membercomprising two rows of vertically longitudinally extending members, thelongitudinally extending members in each row being in horizontallyspaced relationship, the longitudinally extending members of one rowbeing secured to the longitudinally extending members in the other rowin alternate overlapping fashion.

4. A garment display rack comprising a base, a hanger support carried bysaid base, and a plurality of hangers carried by said hanger support,said suppont comprising a plate-like member having a plurality ofgenerally vertically extending grooves in the opposite faces thereof,and panels on the opposite faces of said plate-like members coveringover said grooves, a frame about the ends and bottom of said member andpanels, a tube extending along the ltOP of said plate-like member andhaving a series of oppositely disposed pairs of holes therein, the axisof each pair of holes being in alignment with a said groove, a bolt ateither end of said tube extending therethrough and securing said tube tosaid frame, a coil spring extending in said tube and having its endssecured to said bolts, saidhangers each comprising a rod with avertically extending portion and a horizontal portion at the upper endof the vertical portion, each hanger vertical portion extending in asaid groove, through a pair of holes in said tube and between and inengagement With a convolution of said coil spring.

5. A garment display rack comprising a hanger support and a plurality ofhangers carried by said hanger support, said support comprising aplate-like member having a plurality of generally vertically extendinggrooves in the opposite faces thereof, and panels on the opposite facesof said plate-like member covering over said grooves, a frame about theends and bottom of said member and panels, a tube extending along thetop of said plate-like member and having a series of oppositely disposedpairs of holes therein, the axis of each pair of holes being inalignment with a said groove, means securing said tube to said frame, acoil spring extending in said tube, said hangers each comprising a rodwith a vertically extending portion and a horizontal portion at theupper end of the vertical portion, each hanger vertical portionextending in a said groove, through a pair of holes in said tube andbetween and in engagement With a convolution of said coil spring.

-6. A garment display rack comprising a hanger support and a plunalityof hangers carried by said hanger support, said support comprising aplate-like member having a plurality of generally vertically extendinggrooves in the opposite faces thereof, a frame about the ends and bottomof said member, and panels on the opposite faces of said plate-likemember covering over said grooves, a tube extending along the top ofsaid plate-like member and having a series of oppositely disposed pairsof holes therein, the axis of each pair of holes being in alignment witha said groove, means securing said tube to said frame, a

8 coil spring extending in said Lube, said hangers each comprising a rodwith a vertically extending portion and a horizontal portion at theupper end of the vertical portion, each hanger vertical portionextending in a said groove, through a pair of holes in said tube andbetween and in engagement with a convolution of said coil spring.

7. A garment display rack comprising a hanger support and a plurality ofhangers carried by said hanger support, said support comprising aplate-like member having a plurality of generally vertically extendinggrooves in the opposite faces thereof, means extending along the top ofsaid plate-like member and having a series of holedefining means thereinin alignment With said grooves, a coil spring mounted within the meansextending along the top of said plate-like member, said hangers eachcomprising a rod with a vertically extending portion and a horizontalportion at the upper end of the vertical portion, each hanger verticalportion extending in a said groove, through a said hole-defining meansand between and in engagement with a convolution of said coil spring 8.The garment display rack of claim 7, said plate-like member comprisingtwo rows of vertically longitudinally extending members, thelongitudinally extending members in each row being in horizontallyspaced relationship, the longitudinally extending members of one rowbeing secured to the longitudinally extending members in the other rowin alternate overlapping fashion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,780,061 Bluff Oct. 28, 1930 2,428,240 Pierce Sept. 30, 1947 2,901,116Daley Aug. 25, 1959 2,926,824 St. Clair Mar. 1, 1960 2,944,675 CohenJuly 12, 1960

7. A GARMENT DISPLAY RACK COMPRISING A HANGER SUPPORT AND A PLURALITY OFHANGERS CARRIED BY SAID HANGER SUPPORT, SAID SUPPORT COMPRISING APLATE-LIKE MEMBER HAVING A PLURALITY OF GENERALLY VERTICALLY EXTENDINGGROOVES IN THE OPPOSITE FACES THEREOF, MEANS EXTENDING ALONG THE TOP OFSAID PLATE-LIKE MEMBER AND HAVING A SERIES OF HOLEDEFINING MEANS THEREININ ALIGNMENT WITH SAID GROOVES, A COIL SPRING MOUNTED WITHIN THE MEANSEXTENDING ALONG THE TOP OF SAID PLATE-LIKE MEMBER, SAID HANGERS EACHCOMPRISING A ROD WITH A VERTICALLY EXTENDING PORTION AND A HORIZONTALPORTION AT THE UPPER END OF THE VERTICAL PORTION, EACH HANGER VERTICALPORTION EXTENDING IN A SAID GROOVE, THROUGH A SAID HOLE-DEFINING MEANSAND BETWEEN AND IN ENGAGEMENT WITH A CONVOLUTION OF SAID COIL SPRING.